Wind power generates enough electricity to run thousands of homes each year

Ford may be making headlines with its EcoBoost V6 engines which power vehicles ranging from the Flex to the F-150, but the company is also looking to go green with its factories.

Ford has added a new wind turbine to reduce the amount of electricity it uses from conventional sources and improve its annual CO2 footprint. The addition of a new wind turbine at the Dagenham Diesel Engine Assembly line in the UK will improve Ford's CO2 savings from 2,500 tons to 5,000 tons per year.

The turbines at the diesel assembly line will allow the plant to be fully powered by wind by this month. The new turbine is the third on the premises. The plant needed the third turbine after adding a Duratorq TDCi engine line. The two existing turbines generate 5.92 million kWh of electricity each year. That is enough power for 1,794 homes. The third turbine makes for a total annual generation of 11.4 million kWh. The installation began in May of 2011 with the laying of groundwork and the new turbine was installed and is now operational.

“Since 2000, we have reduced our global operational energy use by 30 per cent and CO2 emissions from our facilities by 39 per cent,” said Ken Macfarlane, Vice President Manufacturing, Ford of Europe. “Globally Ford is committed to continue leading the way in environmental responsibility, whether with the vehicles and powertrains we make or through the processes we use to make them.”

The two existing turbines are gigantic with a height of 150 meters each. Ford also uses renewable energy at other locations in Europe -- Ford’s Genk Plant in Belgium has two wind turbines and many other Ford facilities use green energy (such as solar).